250.142 b ex 2

[Madden45607]

Will 250.142b ex 2 allow me to run 2 hots and neutral to 8 meters after a main disconnect. A contractor failed his inspection so now I was hired to put a main in front of these. Thanks

[admin]

Greetings,

Well it appears it's compliant to do so as long as you meet ALL the conditions.

Exception No. 2: It shall be permissible to connect meter enclosures to the grounded circuit conductor on the load side of the service disconnect if all of the following conditions apply:
(1) Ground-fault protection of equipment is not installed.
(2) All meter enclosures are located immediately adjacent to the service disconnecting means.
(3) The size of the grounded circuit conductor is not smaller than the size specified in Table 250.122 for equipment grounding conductors.

Just be mindful of 230.71(B) as well as 230.85.

[Madden45607]

i plan on installing individual disconnects below each meter was just unsure if i had to pull an equipment ground to meter bases since its after the main. the meter bases are permanently bonded to enclosure.

[admin]

The Ex.2 of this section has application for a multimeter installation that are commonly installed at building you are showing.

When the number of disconnection means exceed 6, it's common to redesign and put a main disconnect means on the line side of the multiple meters.

The multimeter setup is permitted to be grounded by the grounded (neutral) conductor because it is immediately adjacent to service disconnetion means.

Now, this does permit a parallel path for neutral current but this rule permits the application.

So no EGC as long as grounded conductor is sized as stated in Ex 2, item (3).